“THOSE WHO CALL” (2023) SHOWS US THAT TERRIFYING WOODS & FAMILY ISSUES DON’T MIX

Whenever I go camping or think of a road-tripping through some small town surrounded by woods, my immediate first thought is horror movies. Some say that may be a demented way to look at reality, due to the obsessive watching of horror movies. I think horror movies are not only one of the best forms of movie entertainment but somewhat of a survival guide to avoid the same fates as those who don’t make it to the end of the movie. Who says horror can’t be educational, right?

There have been way too many horror movies out there made revolving around a “wrong turn’ in a road trip or possibly ending up in some “cabin in the woods” where something nefarious may cause the main characters harm. With the ways we constantly consume movies due to the awesome instant access of streaming horror movies (I’m looking at you Shudder….ya rock!), it’s hard not to wonder when you’re driving on a small highway through the woods at midnight “what could happen to me if I stumbled into a horror movie scenario?”.

Recently I got the chance to watch the enjoyable road trip-based horror movie from Uncork’d Entertainment called “Those Who Call”. This movie stars Angie Sandoval, Yetlanezi Rodriguez, Reese Fast, Kevin Kinkade, and Addison Cousins. The synopsis for this movie is as follows:

“This movie tells of two sisters going on a Colorado road trip. On their way there, their car breaks down in an abandoned old town. Soon they realize things aren’t what they seem, and they aren’t alone in the forest. They find themselves being hunted by a sadistic pagan cult and must do everything in their power to survive.”

This movie provides an interesting dynamic between two sisters Sandra (portrayed by Yetlanezi Rodriguez) and Ana (portrayed by Angie Sandoval). I know siblings tend to fight but these two straight-up hate each other. As you can tell when the two first are onscreen with each other, you can tell there is some bad blood. This is confirmed when Sandra brings up some past events in which Ana decided to leave her family behind.

Things of course take a turn for the worst when they get close to running out of gas and have to stop in a small, but rundown town to fill their tank. They are greeted by a grungy resident/gas station owner (portrayed by Kevin Kinkade) who is not willing to give them gas. Oddly enough, he warns them that they shouldn’t be here due to some people who are watching them that will cause them harm if they decide to stay.

Like most smart people in a horror movie, they decide to get the hell out of there, until their car, unfortunately, runs out of gas late at night on a road in the woods before they can get to the next available gas station. Of course, when they are forced to spend the night in their car while in the spooky ass woods (it is clearly spooky, there is fog and weird sounds. Trust me you will see when watching it.) and things start to happen.

From there, this movie gets ramped up with horror as they encounter a cult, have to go into hiding, and again fight about their family troubles. Again, I know family fights but if you find yourself in a “horror movie-like scenario”, maybe it’s best to bench that stuff for a while until you aren’t being chased by people trying to kill you and you are safe enough that the credits can roll. I always find it a bit hilarious when people decided to fight about random things while being in a horror movie. I guess if you might die, why not tell your friends/family how you feel so they have the satisfaction of knowing the truth (I guess but that is the only logical thing I can come up with.)?

The final act of this movie amped up in a way that I wasn’t expecting. Now I don’t mean to brag here (yes I do....I am clearly a narcissist but that isn’t important right now) but considering the fact that I have seen, as some would say “way too many movies”, I am usually not caught off guard by a plot twist. Usually, within the first 30 minutes I may have the whole movie figured out but the ending to this movie was one I didn’t expect. It was surprising how the turn of events caused the final few mins to add up. This is one you will want to pay attention to, or maybe even rewatch to see if you are picking up on the clues.

Not only that but from an artistic standpoint, the movie is structured quite nicely. The whole atmosphere that the writers, director, and cast provided were well done in my opinion. I really loved how the movie looked with the great shots that were on screen. I am a big fan of the cinematography done write and I must say everyone involved in this film got it right. The way the scenes in the woods were filmed with the lack of lighting, darkness being extinguished randomly by the light of a fire and so much more made me enjoy this movie even more. It truly gave the feeling that you were in the woods with the actors. Not only that I felt that both of the main actresses portrayed their parts well. I actually thought they may be sisters who hated the hell out of each other (here is hoping that didn’t cause any drama on the set).

So yes, my horror-fueled friends, this is a good recommendation in my opinion. It is at the very least worth a single watch on a night when you are looking for a good story and are ready to be scared. This may be a nice gem for the start of the year so make sure it is one you don’t miss out on.

“Those Who Call” from Uncork’d Entertainment is currently available on VOD now, so get your popcorn ready, take a seat and expand your horror movie experience with this movie.

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